


Secrets Told, Secrets Witheld

by Archaeologyfiend



Series: Light and Shadow [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ancient and Modern mix, Angst, Brothers, First work on ao3, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2018-12-03 21:33:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11540847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Archaeologyfiend/pseuds/Archaeologyfiend
Summary: Yugi and Atemu are twins but as different as the sun and moon. Their family is hiding dark secrets from the both of them, secrets that threaten not only their lives, but that of the world. And it may be too late for the Mutou twins to do anything to stop it before the shadows arise and an ancient awakens from a 5000 year slumber...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is literally my first work on here and I have no idea how to tag. This story is also cross-posted on FanFiction because that is where I started off years ago and is further along if you want spoilers.

Yugi had always hated Atemu. It wasn’t because his brother was taller, better looking and had matured far faster than he ever would (not that Yugi had seen much of him in the past ten years) but because he lived in luxury whilst Yugi was forced to live with his grandfather under the threat of eviction from Kaiba Corporation hanging over his head. It wasn’t that they were poor, far from it in fact. It was because gaming stores were no longer doing very well and his grandfather refused to sell what he called the 'family business' to the no good busy bodies up at Kaiba Corporation for all the money in the world, which had led to social life at school becoming a living hell (or at least until Kaiba had graduated early, leaving Yugi in relative peace). Atemu didn’t have to deal with any of this, merely having to lift a finger to have something given to him on a silver plate. And Yugi resented him for this.

It had been a long time since the pair of them had seen each other. Probably Christmas ten years ago when they were five, just before their mother had been killed in the accident. Neither Akhnankhamun nor Atemu had bothered to turn up which had been the first parting of the ways. To learn that Atemu also lived in luxury had not been the thing that brought the two together. Except now, Yugi was being left with a whole month of a snobby twin who had never done a thing for himself. He had a feeling that Atemu and Kaiba would get along just fine and wished that Atemu was _his_ twin instead.

“It will be fine Yugi,” his grandfather reassured him for the hundredth time as he drove the rather battered and dented car towards the airport. “I think you will be pleasantly surprised.”

“By what?” Yugi snapped defiantly. “It’s not as if he’s cared about us for the past ten years.” Yugi could feel his grandfather glaring at him from the driver’s seat but he didn’t say anything in contradiction. It was well known that while Yugi may not like violence, he was one of the most stubborn people that Solomon Motou had ever met and it would take a lot more than harsh words and contradictions for him to believe anything different. Solomon had given up long ago trying to change Yugi’s opinion on something once his mind was made up. And so the rest of the journey to the airport was made in silence. Yugi just hoped that they would get back in time for him to visit the arcade with his friends.

The flight that Atemu was coming in upon was scheduled to land at around three thirty but, due to some unforeseen reason back in Egypt the plane had been delayed for nearly an hour and so in reality took a lot longer than had been expected. Yugi found this as another reason to hate Atemu. Why couldn’t he just get a private plane? Lord knows their father had enough money to afford one and probably did own one. But no, he had to inconvenience Yugi in his life even more by coming on a normal plane as if he was a completely normal person and then would land and act like a complete prick. The airport was also notorious for failing air conditioning and today was no different. It was the height of summer and everyone was far too hot within the small cramped arrivals area where happy families disembarked for a wonderful holiday or loving wives came to meet their husbands returning from a business expedition. Yugi only wished that he could be so lucky.

Finally, someone somewhere must have been looking down gratefully upon Yugi as a flash of the famous Motou tri-coloured hair suddenly appeared. Yugi had not seen his brother for nearly ten years and the difference between his memories of his brother and the boy that stood on front of him now was almost shocking. He was taller than Yugi by a good few inches, perhaps even a foot. He was also stick thin but a layer of muscle made him look about as friendly as a jungle cat. His eyes, which had always been thinner in the more elegant Egyptian style of their fathers were no longer the innocent shade of deep reddish violet but had lightened over the years into a vibrant crimson red. His brother’s skin was as tanned as it always was and he shared the same colour hair as Yugi although there was a hell of a lot more blonde in it and Atemu didn’t seem to bother to gel it out of his face, the long bangs hanging over his tired face. There was an air of both majesty and confusion about Atemu as he collapsed gratefully into the waiting arms of their grandfather, yawning much like a wild cat and looking as if he had spent the entire journey clinging to the first class seat in fear of crashing (which Yugi would later learn that he had).

Yugi was surprised that the first thing to leave Atemu’s mouth was not a complaint but a question. “Why is it so cold in Japan?” his brother mumbled into Grandpa’s shoulder almost deliriously, which in turn made Grandpa laugh.

“Everywhere is cold compared to Egypt my boy. Now I think it’s best if we head home for some rest eh?” Nobody disagreed with Grandpa when he made decisions such as these, not even Yugi. It was well known that Yugi’s stubbornness had come from another certain short person within the family on his mother’s side. Unbeknownst to Yugi though, Solomon had also known that the world of Japan was very much different to the one that Atemu had just left behind and it was important that these things were introduced to Atemu slowly. Egypt did not have many of the conventional things that he and Yugi took for granted and Akhnankhamun’s hometown even less so. If Yugi were ever to visit Solomon knew that his grandson would be in for quite a shock.

The drive home was also spent in silence, not least because the moment that Atemu had collapsed into the back of the car, he had fallen asleep. If it was really thought about, it was late in Egypt right now and the flight had been a long and strenuous one for someone who could not remember ever hearing a plane let alone getting on one and flying halfway around the world to get to another country. Yugi spent most of the drive contemplating how someone who had spent most of their life pampered and spoilt could have half the muscles that Atemu had, or half the scars. Not that he could see half of them since Atemu was wearing a black leather jacket done up over a crimson red shirt that probably had long sleeves as well. His grandfather’s comment on that everywhere was cold compared to Egypt made a lot of sense in this regard.

The Kame Game store was situated a fair ride away from the local airport but suspiciously close to the hospital, police station and private school that Grandpa insisted that he go to. Domino High was not the most expensive private school in the area (Joey’s presence in the school showed that much) but it was one of the most well-known private schools where if anything out of the ordinary happened then it would be all over the newspapers. And a lot of extraordinary things happened. One time, there had been a threat to one of the students (miraculously not one of the Kaiba brothers) and the school had been surrounded by armed guards for weeks. Another time a rather shady looking man had loitered outside the school for days, following rich boys home to their expensive mansions. The police were called in after he was caught doing this one day by a worried parent but by the time they tracked down where he lived, the man had disappeared and the building that he had been living in went up in flames. Thankfully he hadn’t been seen since.

Yugi was amazed that Atemu was able to sleep through the entire ride since his grandfather was not the best driver (considering he could barely see over the top of the steering wheel they managed to get lots of odd looks too from people who thought that the car was being driven by nothing but a pair of beady grey eyes) which made the entire drive rather scary. Even so it was clear that Atemu was not comfortable and Yugi’s resentment told him it was probably due to having been driven around in a limo his whole life (Yugi was yet to learn that where his brother had lived a car was something that could have come from an alien planet for all the people knew and the idea of driving anything with four wheels was preposterous). When they finally reached the store his grandfather seemed to consider something but seemed to decide against whatever it was that he was thinking. He then wandered round to the back of the car and gently shook Atemu awake. Or at least tried to.

“Hetlanel*” Atemu murmured which made no sense to Yugi but must have been something bad for Grandpa’s eyes widened in shock. The he hit Atemu over the back of the head. Atemu jolted awake with a shout of “Hey!” before seeming to realise where he was. He then blushed profusely before yawning again.

“Say something like that again in my hearing and that won’t be the worst that happens,” Grandpa scolded although exactly what Atemu had said was still lost on Yugi but it was probably something to do with swearing. Yugi could not count the number of times he had been grounded for swearing within Grandpa’s hearing and being forced to do the stock check, which, as interesting as that might be to the outside world, actually having to check through the toys that were sold both bored and frustrated Yugi to no end. For Atemu… who knew?

Atemu seemed to have been scolded enough and just slid out of the back of the car. If Yugi had been looking properly he would have seen the brief look of confusion and panic that slid momentarily across Atemu’s features before they were suddenly re-schooled into a blank mask that was the most that people normally saw of Atemu. But at that moment Yugi had been distracted by Joey who had suddenly appeared and jumped on top of him from behind.

“Hey Yug!” he shouted in his usual boisterous way. Yugi yelped as he was pulled into a headlock and Joey proceeded to give him the usual nouggie on the head before he realised that they were being watched by a pair of curious crimson eyes. “Who’s this?” Joey asked, still holding Yugi in a headlock. Atemu said nothing, continuing to stare at them curiously before shaking his head and grabbing his bag from the boot. Grandpa had mysteriously disappeared (probably into the store to get away from Joey’s rather loud mouth). Then he too disappeared into the shop.

“Who the hell was that?” Joey asked again as he let Yugi out of the headlock. Yugi rubbed his head and glared at Joey.

“Now why would I tell you that after you try to murder me?” he asked playfully, knowing that this would antagonise Joey all the more. Joey glared back at Yugi and was about to leap on his friend and drag him into a new headlock until he relented to tell him who the mysterious person was when they were stopped by a quiet voice behind them.

“Atemu.” Yugi hadn’t realised how deep his brother’s voice was until now, nor the cool confident aura that seemed to surround him (to be fair Atemu had been rather distracted by the dazzling lights and strange sights that he had seen in the space of a few minutes since arriving in Japan). Joey blinked and turned to face him, staring at him for a moment and taking in the relaxed yet tense way that his brother slouched against the door frame, the cool blank expression and guarded look within his eyes. Then he walked over to him (more towering really since Atemu was also quite a bit shorter than he was) and looked him squarely in the eyes.

“And what are you doing here?” Joey said, barely disguised protectiveness in his voice. Joey had been the one to deal with all of the bullies from Domino High who had picked on Yugi for his size and how he sounded quite a few years younger than he actually was, so it was no surprise that he thought that Atemu, with all his dangerous pride and majesty, was a threat to Yugi. But Atemu also seemed to not be intimidated by someone who was a good foot and a half taller than he was.

“What business is it to you?” Yugi blinked. Joey’s threatening demeanour usually worked on all the bullies and life had gone on a little smoother (other than the episode with Ushio and the miraculous appearance of the money to pay him off with, so as to stop him from beating Joey to a pulp) but Atemu wasn’t even fazed.

Joey seemed rather taken aback by this as well and stared at Atemu for a little longer before he said, “It’s my business if ya here to beat up my best bud, ya hear?” At this, Atemu’s face creased, as if unused to hearing use the words ‘ya’ and ‘bud’ and was taking a little time to work out just what had been said to him (which in truth he was). Thankfully he seemed to be saved by Grandpa who made a miraculous appearance.

“Atemu your room’s all set up for you. Ah, Joey! Just the person I wanted to see!” Grandpa said as if there was nothing odd about Yugi’s twin brother appearing out of nowhere and having a rather one sided argument with Yugi’s best friend. Atemu just nodded, still eyeing Joey as if he couldn’t understand what had just been said to him and was wary which made him look even more unfriendly. Joey, for his part, just blinked at Grandpa’s admission that he knew Atemu.

“Soooooo, who is he?” Joey said, once Atemu was gone. Grandpa raised an eyebrow and looked at Yugi.

“You didn’t tell Joey that your twin was coming to visit?” he said as if they were all on good terms. Yugi cringed knowing what would happen next.

“You have a twin!” Joey shouted, looking from him to Grandpa in shock. Yugi bit his lip and looked at the ground, ashamed that he hadn’t been able to bring himself to telling Joey about Atemu for the eight years that they had known each other for. Grandpa said nothing, deciding to go help Atemu unpack.

“I was going to tell you…” Yugi said pathetically, knowing that it wouldn’t make a difference. Joey just shook his head and they both headed into the shop. “So how’s you dad?” Yugi asked tentatively, already knowing the answer. Joey just shrugged as he leaned against the counter. Neither Grandpa nor Atemu were in the shop.

“He’s fine I guess. Not in the house more times than I am at school. Did see Bakura today though,” Joey said, the last said half thoughtfully and half chattered. Bakura was a boy who also went to Domino High but how he came to be in the school was only slightly legendary. Bakura had been taken from the slums of Egypt by some kind of charity and placed into a dependable (in theory) private school as a way of saying that anyone can change the way that they live. This had occurred three years ago and Yugi could still remember the half wild boy who could barely speak a single word of Japanese and whose mouth was as dirty as his clothes (which is to say extremely). His bad attitude had gotten him into many fights throughout the three years that he had attended Domino High but the years spent on the street had made him an able fighter, many of his victims being left with broken limbs (he had once left a boy in a coma and rumour had it that whoever paid for his school fees had had to fork out quite a bit of money in compensation so that he would stay in education). Bakura had become the one guy in Domino High who could get away with whatever he wanted since even the head teacher was scared to death by him. It was no surprise therefore, that he would be found in one of Domino’s shadiest neighbourhoods where everyone was either drunk or did or sold drugs.

“What was Bakura doing?” Yugi asked uneasily, not really sure that he wanted to know. Bakura had never seemed to be bothered by him and Yugi wanted to keep it that way. After all, he had been witness to Bakura’s most famous fight, none of which had been made up.

“I don’t know. He just seemed to be hanging around outside some warehouse as if considering whether or not he could use it as some kind of base. Probably for his new drug trafficking system,” Joey joked although they both knew that even if Bakura knew a thing or two about drugs, while he might fight like a wild-cat, he wouldn’t touch them. In fact, Bakura knew more about drugs than he did about anything else (or so Yugi thought. As it turned out he knew a lot more about Yugi than he let on).

Yugi shrugged and decided to change the topic. “So what did you want to do?” Joey’s face lit up and all thought of Bakura (and Atemu for that matter) left the pair’s minds.

“Well, where else is there to go with my best bud than the arcade?” And with that the pair left, laughing and joking, any thought of Atemu or the dark secrets that he held completely gone for the time being. Unfortunately, secrets can only last as long as you can hold them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Atem's thoughts and an awkward dinner with an uninvited guest...

Atemu watched as his brother left the store, followed by the rather tall blonde who acted like some kind of overactive puppy trying to protect it’s master without the capability to do any such thing. He was as confusing as the rest of this place and things hadn’t become any saner the further into this world he went. The lights, the weather, the _time_ all seemed to be out of proportion. There were huge signs everywhere but what they were actually for Atemu did not know. There were tall posts that were bent over the roads, the top of them having a clear casing of glass showing a strange bulb like growth was alien to Atemu, barely any of them being seen during the short, surprising drive through the streets of Cairo to the airport. None of these things existed in New Thebes and none of them ever would. They were a part of this world, a world that Atemu desperately wanted to be a part of, but he would always be a part of the world that he had left behind. A world with its own language, its own thoughts and its own ideals that were considered outdated and old-fashioned by this world.

Atemu sighed and turned away from the window and tried to ignore the nagging feeling that, besides his Grandfather, he was not wanted here. The frosty silence by Yugi had not been lost on him in the warm airport, even through his fear and confusion of the place he was entering. Then again the confusion had only started the moment they hit Cairo, the fear growing on the thought that his father had sent him to _fly_ , a thing Atemu had only thought possible with the help of a Ka, to Japan in a huge metal tube which looked far too heavy and robust to even get off the ground. He had spent the rest of the flight convinced that the tube he was now inside would plummet to the earth, the weight being too much. Twelve hours on a plane had been far too much for Atemu- would be for most people let alone someone who could not remember getting on one- and the thought of having to repeat the experience was not a pleasant one.

Atemu puffed out another breath and surveyed his room with interest. The room he had left behind in Egypt was nothing like this. It had been huge, triple the size of this one, but bare, filled with nothing but the four-poster bed and a small table in which sat a washing bowl, and underneath, a bowl for which was used for if you were in need of the toilet. The room here was much smaller but Atemu found that he preferred it that way. While the bed was not a huge four-poster bed covered in silk sheets, it was covered in a soft duvet, and was situated opposite the window so that Atemu could easily look out over the street outside. The walls were painted a soft gold, a much nicer colour than the bare stones of the palace back home. They were even covered with a few pieces of paper with coloured pictures, although how they were so accurate was something else that was lost on Atemu. He might know the language of this place but everything, even the clothes, baffled him as much as he tried not to show it.

He was thankful however, to his Grandfather. He had been kind and understanding of his reaction to this strange new world and had welcomed Atemu here, helping him get past the initial shock that clean water could run through small tubes (pipes as his grandfather had called them) without the need to have someone purify and cleanse the water before it could be bathed in. In fact it was a novelty that it could even be drunk to Atemu. Even so, Atemu had been unaware that his Grandfather even spoke his native tongue which made him remember his earlier slip of the tongue. Then again his father didn’t even know that he knew those words so he wasn’t truly bothered (he was sure that if his father did then he would be flogged. Again.)

The door suddenly opened and his grandfather entered. For such a short and stoat man he could move surprisingly quickly. “I was wondering if you needed any help unpacking,” he said, the old eyes twinkling with a spark of mischief and happiness. Atemu smiled and shook his head.

“I’m fine. There wasn’t much that I could bring in the first place.” Solomon Motou nodded his head and retreated out of the room as Atemu moved towards the bag that had been packed before he even knew that he was leaving. The clothes were strange to him but he knew that he couldn’t wear his ordinary clothes as they were too inconspicuous. In fact it had been all been his father’s idea in the first place to leave. Atemu had wondered at this for a moment before casting the thought aside. If his father wanted him to leave the country then there was a perfectly good reason, one which probably involved his uncle. It always did.

Atemu could pinpoint many times in his young life that he had been told that they were leaving to go somewhere else. The Oasis of Osiris had been one and when they had returned the palace looked as if someone had laid siege to it. A pilgrimage to the Valley of the Kings (the obscure corner of course) had been another, returning to see a political battle bring fought within the council rooms. Atemu was not scared of many things, but when it came to his father telling him to leave he knew that the reason would be in preserving his life. There had been more assassins than Atemu cared to count for and he hoped that there would not be a kind of modern assassin waiting for him round the next corner. Unlike Egypt, most of which he knew quite well from many visits all over (only to the traditional or small villages and towns), Japan was wide open and there was only a very small part that he knew, if any. He had not been to Domino for nearly ten years and now he had been forced to leave the country which meant that something dreadful was about to happen. Something that needed the heirs of the country to be far away from the brewing fight that would break out back home. And that made Atemu fear for both his brother’s safety as well as for his own life.

It had seemed almost unearthly when his father had told him. In fact it had only been last night (as an eternity ago as it felt), as he was about to fall asleep. _I’m sending you away to Japan. You need to learn about other cultures, not just our own_. Atemu had not missed the catch in his father’s voice nor the longing. _You’ll be staying with your brother. Keep safe._ Atemu’s fingers subconsciously lifted to where his father’s had brushed his cheek, something that was unknown for Akhnankhamun to do. He was well known as a hard cold man who was not a very ‘huggy’ person although it was well known that his love for his son knew no bounds.

Something flashed underneath the window outside. Atemu blinked and turned to see what had happened but on seeing nothing turned back, one eye kept on the window. Years of living under threat, both playfully and criminally, had taught him how to make it look as if he were busy concentrating on something whilst keenly watching the area where the enemy had given themselves away. A tanned hand reached out for the latch on the window and Atemu felt a smirk fall into place on his face. He carefully stood beside the window, making sure to keep out of sight of the intruder. There was a click as whoever it was managed to unlock the window from the outside (even though the lock was inside the room) and the slim form of a boy his own age slipped into the room. Atemu didn’t let the boy see him but the moment he passed by the darkened corner he swung an arm out, grabbing the boy and pinning him to the wall.

A tumble of fluent swearing erupted from the boy, both in Japanese and Atemu’s home language and even a few in Arabic for good measure, as he struggled to free himself but Atemu didn’t loosen his grip. The smirk never left his face but he contained the laughter that was bubbling up inside him. This was actually a pretty normal circumstance back home (when this boy was actually _back_ home) and the result was the same every time.

“You know Bakura,” Atemu said, “I thought we were past all these childish games.”

* * *

Yugi was having a great time. He was in the arcade with his best friend, he was winning and his brother wasn’t around to annoy him. He felt a little guilty for leaving Grandpa with the annoying brat but he didn’t feel anything towards Atemu, who found the whole of Japan practically alien. Unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end eventually and Yugi had promised to be home every night before eight o’clock.

“So,” Joey said as they made their way back to the Game store, “what’s your brother like?”

“Don’t know,” Yugi said shortly. “Don’t care. Probably snobby and annoying.”

“How’d you figure that?” Joey was looking at him with surprise. Normally Yugi was a very friendly and open person but the moment his brother had been brought into the conversation his mood had turned hostile.

“Well, let’s think. He’s been living in luxury for the past ten years with our father while I and Grandpa have had to scrape through life, trying to avoid eviction by Kaiba Corp. Oh, and let’s not forget that he didn’t bother turning up to our mother’s funeral, nor did he bother to even write a letter in those ten years! I practically didn’t have a brother for ten years of my life and now he thinks he can just walk into my life like we’ve never been apart!” Yugi’s voice had risen as he ranted and Joey’s face darkened at the mention of everything that Atemu had done.

“Ok, I could understand living the lap of luxury but no one forgets that they have a brother. Especially not one as awesome as you, Yug’. He’s messed up.” Yugi sighed and trudged on in silence, knowing that he would be forced to hold a conversation with him at some point.

The walk from the arcade wasn’t long and soon Yugi and Joey were standing outside the Game store. Yugi had made sure to invite Joey to stay at least for dinner just so he could ignore Atemu for that little bit longer but the store was empty and no one was in sight. This wasn’t unusual since the store shut at six but the sound of laughter and shouting that was coming from the living area above the shop _was_ unusual. Yugi looked at Joey who looked just as stumped as he felt. Who could Atemu have met already and laugh like they were friends?

Yugi found himself walking up the stairs in trepidation, wondering what he would find on the other side. Tristan come round for a surprise game night? Kaiba come to evict them only to find a friend in Atemu? Or even, god forbid, Tea had come in and instantly started crushing on his brother? Yugi reached for the door, his hand shaking and was about to open it when he realised two things: one, neither of the two boys on the other side of the door were speaking Japanese, and two, that the second voice was a terrifyingly familiar voice. He turned to look at Joey who looked a little green. Of all the people that Atemu had to be friends with, why did it have to be _him_?

“Maybe we should come back later?” Yugi whispered. Joey shook his head.

“Gramps’ll kill you,” he whispered back. “Better to get it over with.” Yugi bit his lip but knew that Joey was right. Screwing all his courage together he pushed the door to the living space open and walked in to find his brother and the one and only Bakura sprawled across the couch, a game of Dual Monsters between them. Surprisingly, Atemu looked as if he were creaming Bakura easily.

Both boys looked up as the door opened and Bakura raised an eyebrow when Joey walked in after them. Atemu’s face was blank, nothing showing on his face, eyes watching Joey cautiously. Bakura looked like he usually did, tanned skin, white messy hair to just past his shoulders, the scar from who knows what standing out on his face as it did every time that he dared look at Bakura. And of course, he was wearing the usual evil smirk as he leaned back and looked at them upside down.

“Oh, look,” he drawled, “the little pipsqueak has come home.” Atemu’s reaction to this was to kick Bakura in a rather delicate area, at which point he let out a yelp and curled into a ball, muttering profanities under his breath.

“Ignore him,” Atemu said. “He’s an idiot most days.”

“You… know each other?” Yugi said faintly, his mind reaching back to the day of the comatose fight. He wondered how Atemu could get away with hitting Bakura and not ending up dead.

“Strangely enough, yes,” Atemu said, returning his eyes to the hand of cards in front of them. “It’s your move Bakura.”

“You win. I’m bored of this game,” Bakura snapped, jumping up from the couch and stretching in the same cat-like way that Atemu had earlier. Yugi realised that there several similarities between Bakura and Atemu. Neither would have looked imposing if you didn’t know that both were capable of decking someone three times their size, both moved with an almost cat-like grace and both were pretty much anti-social (in Yugi’s opinion). And yet there was still the rough, unrefined look to the way that Bakura moved to the way that Atemu did, showing that they both came from completely different backgrounds and yet they seemed to be close friends. Yugi wondered how that could be.

At that point however Grandpa walked in the room and noticed the four of them standing in the living room, looking at each other warily.

“Ah, Yugi! Your home! I was wondering if I was going to have to send a search party looking for you! Staying Joey?” Grandpa was used to Joey just randomly staying for dinner. It normally happened once a week, sometimes even more and since Joey was a bottomless pit, they were stocked with plenty of food.

“Sure thing Gramps!” Joey said with a grin. Bakura scowled at the level of noise but said nothing. Grandpa just grinned.

“I thought so. Good thing I made enough for five!” And with that, he disappeared back into the kitchen. Yugi felt his stomach drop. _Five_? They were sharing dinner with _Bakura_? They were so dead.

Joey must have been going along the same thoughts as he sent a glance back to Bakura who just grinned maliciously. Joey opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Atemu.

“Just leave it, the pair of you.” There was no room for argument in Atemu’s tone and his crimson eyes seemed to pierce right through both Joey and Bakura. Joey flinched and Bakura scowled again but neither said a word. Atemu turned back to the book that he must have been reading before they walked in and silence reigned until Grandpa called them in for dinner.

Dinner was… interesting. Atemu seemed to just be enjoying the food and the sense of being somewhere other than his home, Bakura was digging into the steak as if it were the last thing he would ever eat and Joey seemed to be competing with him as to who could eat the fastest. Grandpa just looked as if he were laughing at them on the inside. Yugi didn’t eat much himself. He was too distracted by the fact that he was eating dinner with _Bakura_ of all people. How on earth did he and Atemu know each other?

“You got a problem pipsqueak?” Bakura growled, looking up from his meal as if he had only just noticed the fact that Yugi had been staring at him.

“N-Not really,” Yugi stammered. “I was just wondering how you knew Atemu.” Bakura gave him a long look that was almost incredulous and then turned and said something in that strange language to Atemu. Atemu was just frowning, a look of either confusion or anger crossing his face. Perhaps both.

“Your dad was the one who sent me to this goddamned place,” Bakura snapped in the end. Yugi blinked. He had? But why?

“Don’t worry. He’s never here for the summer. We get stuck with him instead,” Atemu said quietly, suddenly no longer interested in his dinner. “I’m going to bed.” He suddenly got up from the table and strode out of the room. A moment later a door slammed upstairs. Bakura just raised an eyebrow.

“Well, I’m not staying to deal with the fallout of _that_ discussion,” he said, his eye still watching the door warily, as if expecting Atemu to come back and throttle him.

“Great,” Yugi muttered. Bakura shot him a look.

“You know, as much as I would love to watch your friend get beaten to a pulp, he’s not angry at you. More like, your dad should be watching his back for the next few weeks. That is, if he’s not already dead.” Yugi stared at Bakura, his mouth hanging open. Grandpa looked up sharply and sent Bakura a long stare. Joey just looked shocked.

“What?” Yugi shouted, wondering what on earth Bakura could mean. Bakura just raised an eyebrow.

“You didn’t know? Your dad is one of the most secretive people I know but I thought that even _he_ wouldn’t be pea-brained enough to not keep you in touch with what’s going on,” Bakura said, idly leaning back in his chair, a malicious smirk on his face.

“This has nothing to do with Yugi. Akhnankhamun promised,” Grandpa said quietly. “I would have thought that even you would know that Bakura.” Bakura snorted and shook his head, standing.

“Personally I’d give the old bastard a week, if that. Akhnadin’s no longer his biggest problem.” With that Bakura stalked to the door and left, but not before sending Yugi another malicious smirk and shouting “Later dead-meat!”

Yugi turned to his grandfather feeling utterly confused. What was going on that even Bakura knew, yet he didn’t? Why wasn’t he allowed to know? And who on earth was Akhnadin and Akhnankhamun?

“Grandpa! What’s going on?” Yugi cried, turning to look desperately at his grandfather. Grandpa just looked at Yugi gravely and gathered up the dirty plates.

“Nothing you need concern yourself about Yugi. Nothing at all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So er, sorry this took forever. I was away on holiday and forgot to post before I went amongst other things, so hopefully you enjoyed and hey, Bakura was here!


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

Atemu woke the next morning, irritated, tired and very confused. It took a few moments to realise that the shouting coming from outside his room wasn’t the guards that his father kept posted there every night and that it wasn’t even in his home language. As the Japanese words slurred together in his head he realised that it was actually his grandfather shouting up the stairs for Yugi.

“You’re going to be late for school again! No, there’s no time for breakfast here, you’ll have to get some at school!” There was the sound of whining, which Atemu took to be his brother complaining about the fact that he was being forced to skip breakfast. Atemu yawned and sat up, feeling strangely cold, only to realise that his pet leopard, Hotep, wasn’t actually asleep on the bed. In fact, Hotep was miles away in Egypt with his father, probably protecting an empty room. The leopard wouldn’t know that Atemu wouldn’t be home for a long time.

The sound of the front door slamming pushed the last dregs of sleep from Atemu’s mind. He sighed and pushed the bedcovers away, knowing that any renewed attempt at sleep would only end in failure. At least Bakura would have to follow the laws of this country and actually turn up for school today and not bug him about what exactly was going on back at home and whether the thief court had been discovered. Considering the thief court was quite capable to get by without their illustrious leader and that they had yet to be discovered, Atemu was fairly sure that even the idiots among them would be fine. That, and the fact that the thief court had bigger things to worry about than just the stuff they could steal from the local tourists. Atemu shook his head, wishing he could think about other things than his father’s supposed impending doom.

The smell of cooking compelled Atemu to wander downstairs, thanking the gods that there was someone else in the house to distract him from the bitter thoughts in his head. His grandfather was making breakfast and smiled when he realised that Atemu was in the room.

“I would have thought that you would get up later than this,” Solomon said, smiling at his eldest grandson. Atemu may not look like Yugi, but he certainly had the same sleepy look that Yugi usually had when he was roused from sleep early. However, Yugi would usually then complain bitterly at having been woken up. Atemu just looked used to having been forced to get up early.

“I was woken up by all the shouting,” he murmured, flopping into a chair with hardly any notice at how graceful the move was. Then again, Solomon had the feeling that Atemu was used to sitting in hard, uncomfortable chairs and was more amazed by the comfort of the sofa than the plastic kitchen chairs.

“Sorry about that. Your brother has a lack of inner body clock. If you don’t get him up he would sleep the day away.” Atemu’s mouth twitched at what would have been a smile if he hadn’t been taught for years that outer emotions were dangerous. Solomon felt a stab of pity, knowing that any innocence that Atemu may have retained from childhood would be hidden from the world. However Solomon also knew that Atemu didn’t want pity. He wasn’t like that. He would much rather you tried to kill him than tell him that you felt sorry for him. That was how Atemu’s world worked, because he already knew that he had lost out on this world and would rather focus on whatever life threw at him next than what could have been.

“Then he wouldn’t like home,” Atemu said quietly. Solomon found himself thinking of that sandy place that Atemu had come from, the gleaming walls of gold leaf and the streets filled with people who knew so little and yet so much about the world.

“I don’t think Yugi would understand,” Solomon said quietly. “Everything would be alien to him.” Atemu shot him a sharp look as he tucked into the plate of eggs and bacon his grandfather had put in front of him.

“You mean like how everything here is practically alien to me?” There was a challenge in Atemu’s voice and Solomon cursed his bad phrasing. Atemu was used to double meanings, not realising that he had meant nothing of the sort.

“No. Everything would be alien to Yugi because he doesn’t make the effort to understand,” Solomon said patiently, hoping that Atemu would at least understand that. It was horrible to have to teach your own grandson to trust you but when even your own uncle tried to kill you… well, Solomon could understand why Atemu was at least a little wary. He wasn’t a fool to think that Egypt’s troubles stayed in Egypt.

Atemu looked a little confused so Solomon decided to change tack. “What are you going to be doing today?” Atemu blinked at the change of topic and then shrugged.

“I don’t know,” he said honestly. Well, at least that was one problem that Solomon was able to sort out without introducing too much too quickly. The outside world may still be a mystery to Atemu but if he was going to be living with them, Solomon figured that he could get Atemu used to life inside for a while. Especially as this would help him outside as well.

“Well, I’m going to need some help with the shop later on today. I’ve got to go and pick up some groceries since we’re nearly out and I can pick Yugi up from school on the way home. I can teach you all you need to know before I leave.” A sort of spark lit in Atemu’s eyes and Solomon smiled. If there was one thing that Atemu didn’t lack it was fighting spirit.

* * *

Yugi glared at the clock on the wall and wished it would move faster. He hated the last class of the day, especially when it was Literature and the teacher would drone on for ages about one text or another. Yugi wasn’t really all that bothered about Japanese- he was planning on running the family business not writing the next classic novel. He was also looking forward to games night with Joey and Tristan.

This would happen every Friday night. He, Joey and Tristan would crash at his place and Grandpa would let them have a game each from the store which they would then use in the ultimate gaming competition. This meant that the person who won the most games would get to pick a dare that the person who lost the most games would then have to complete (although this was only limited to the house and the entertainment of those inside - Grandpa forbid the use of blackmail and rude dares). It was actually the best part of the week and Yugi hoped that his twin would not ruin the fun for them this afternoon.

As the clock began to tick closer to the end of the day, restless whispers rose around the class and people began to fidget. Yugi hated this class for many reasons although the fact that he was forced to sit behind Cindy Jamieson and Kew Yen was probably the worst thing. Both girls were notorious gossips and had no heart about whether or not they ruined someone’s social life with it. They were also both well off and were able to spend lunchtimes outside the school, where they would gossip with other off-campers and find out what was really going on in some places (this usually made Yugi’s life worse). However today, neither of them were talking about juicy goings-on in school.

“Oh my god, did you walk past the Game shop today?” Kew was whispering to Cindy, making Yugi wish he could sink lower in his chair. It was no secret that the Game shop was where he lived and both girls were fully aware of this and therefore Yugi put this conversation down to public humiliation for the next day.

“No. Only lame kids go there,” Cindy shot back, her head jerking behind her a little towards where Yugi was sitting. Yugi wondered if she actually realised that he could hear her loud and clear.

“Not anymore. The hottest guy I’ve ever seen was working in there today!” Kew squealed under her breath. Yugi blinked wondering who she was talking about. Cindy just looked shocked.

“No way! What was he like? Who was he?” she whispered frantically, the gossip inside her clearly showing.

“I don’t know but he was all tan and lean and buff! And he had the most gorgeous eyes! They were all crimson but not like blood, like satin! Like the satin dress I wore last year to the school dance!” Kew gabbled her eyes wide and bright with something akin to lust. Yugi sank down lower in his seat. Of course. They would be talking about Atemu. After all, everything seemed to be about Atemu now.

“Ok, I have to see him now!” Cindy whispered and Yugi contemplated warning his brother that he had a fan-club. He also contemplated asking the girls over to his house just to see Atemu’s face and then decided he wasn’t that cruel. He might not like his brother but no one deserved a night with those two.

Kew was about to answer when the bell cut her off and Yugi gathered up his things and dashed away before the squealing could start up in full force. He hated sitting near the back as, because he was so small, he was always crushed into the doorway since people didn’t see him until the last minute. Thankfully, he practically skipped this and managed to make it to the front of the school without being crushed by the crowd for once. Joey and Tristan were waiting, surprisingly, by his grandfather’s car with Grandpa sitting in the front seat.

“Hello Yugi! Nice day at school?” Grandpa asked as they piled in.

“Uh, fine but shouldn’t you be watching the shop?” Yugi asked, nearly shouting over Joey and Tristan’s arguments over who would win today’s competition.

“Oh, I left Atemu in charge of the shop. He did so well this morning I thought that he could handle it and I wasn’t gone for long. Only to get some groceries from the shop considering your friends were coming over tonight!” There was a gleam in Grandpa’s eyes when he said ‘friends’ and Yugi cringed. Neither Joey nor Tristan seemed to have a bottom to the endless pits of their stomachs and were constantly eating them out of food. What worried Yugi now was that Cindy and Kew would get back to the shop before they did.

“I don’t know whether that’s a good idea. There were some girls in Literature who seemed pretty keen to meet him…”

“What’cha talking ‘bout Yug’?” Joey suddenly said, butting into their conversation. Yugi felt himself flush wondering if he should really be sharing this information.

“Oh, nothing. I just heard Cindy and Kew talking about how they had seen this guy in the Game shop that they thought was, err, good-looking and were planning to drop by,” Yugi said, noting the growing looks of horror on Joey and Tristan’s faces.

“Ok, I might not like your brother but no one deserves the horror of those two!” Joey shouted. “Step on it Gramps!” Grandpa just laughed at their antics, shaking his head.

“I’m sure Atemu can handle himself around teenage girls. It’s not like he hasn’t met any before,” Grandpa said, still chuckling.

After what seemed like an age they pulled up outside the Game shop, which was surprisingly quiet. It wasn’t until Yugi noticed a flash of white hair leaning against a counter that he realised why. Bakura had dropped by for another visit and had somehow managed to beat them on foot than in the car. On foot, the journey took about twenty minutes, ten minutes by car, so how he had beaten them was anyone’s guess. Tristan looked a little shocked at finding Bakura in the shop.

“Um, maybe we should come back later,” he said, his eyes flicking towards Bakura through the shop window. Yugi shook his head.

“He’ll still be here later. He and Atemu are best friends apparently,” Yugi said, trying not to sound edgy. Bakura hadn’t exactly been welcoming the last time he had been at the shop and Atemu had left dinner early in a bad mood. Yugi was also not sure how he felt about some of Bakura’s other comments as well.

Grandpa just looked at them for a moment before pushing the door open and stepping inside. Yugi heard him greet the two boys and watched as Atemu came round from behind the counter. And Yugi had to get used to the sight of his brother all over again. Today, he was wearing jeans and a green t-shirt, his long hair pulled back out of his face by an elastic band. Some wild blonde bangs fell into his face giving him a dark, almost dangerous look despite the casual clothes. Yugi also noticed the golden bands around his brother’s neck for the first time, and the glint of more gold under the t-shirt’s sleeves around his muscled arms. Yugi wondered why he hadn’t taken them off but figured that he would ask that later. Pushing ahead of Joey and Tristan, he stepped into the shop after his grandfather.

“Hey pipsqueak! Survived another day of school?” Bakura was lounging against the cash desk, fiddling with a bunch of keys which looked suspiciously like the main keys to the entire building. He was fairly certain that Grandpa kept them in a secure place, where thieves couldn’t get at them so how had Bakura gotten them? Grandpa seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“Bakura, while you are in my house you will not steal. This is my home, not Egypt. The keys, if you will.” Grandpa held out a hand which Bakura sneered at. However, Atemu suddenly swiped at Bakura’s hands, causing him to drop the keys into Grandpa’s outstretched ones.

“Watch what you’re doing!” Bakura growled, rubbing his hands together. “I’ve got to use these later. There’re some bottles of whisky with my name on for later.”

“You’re not drinking here either,” Atemu said with a note of finality. Bakura muttered under his breath in his native tongue which Yugi took to be swearing. Not that Atemu seemed phased by it.

“Hello Yugi. How was school?” Atemu asked, almost mildly, ignoring Bakura’s death glare.

“Fine,” Yugi muttered. He turned to Grandpa. “Can we go upstairs now? We’ve still got games night.” Grandpa blinked as if he had forgotten that Joey and Tristan were in the room with them. Well, they were both being uncharacteristically quiet, Tristan standing there with his mouth open like a fish. Atemu was looking at him, one eyebrow raised.

“Is there a reason why you look like a fish or do you normally walk around with a gormless expression on your face?” Atemu smirked as Tristan closed his mouth with a snap.

“Of course. Which games do you want?” Grandpa asked his eyes bright. Yugi knew that his grandfather loved games just as much as he did, and happened to be even better than Yugi. However Grandpa refrained from being a part of games night due to his ‘old-age' although Yugi imagined that he just liked to watch his grandson have fun.

It wasn’t until they were well into the evening (on the third game of Dual Monsters in fact) that Yugi noticed that Atemu was nowhere in sight. In fact, Yugi hadn’t seen him since they had picked out their games. He turned to Grandpa to find that for once, Grandpa was not watching them play. Instead he was sitting in the kitchen, his chin resting on his interlaced hands, looking thoughtfully into the middle distance. Yugi quietly left Joey and Tristan to battle it out, knowing that Joey had already won the game anyway.

“Grandpa?” Yugi asked. His grandfather looked up, blinking, as if he hadn’t realised that Yugi was there. Yugi frowned. That was unusual in itself. Solomon Motou had lost none of his hearing, or near perfect eyesight, in his old age. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine Yugi. I’m just worried about Atemu is all,” Grandpa said, sending Yugi a reassuring smile. But Yugi felt anything but reassured.

“What do you need to be worried about Atemu for? Doesn’t he have people who are paid for that?” Grandpa’s face hardened as he looked at Yugi. There was something almost angry about that look which shocked Yugi. His grandfather rarely got angry and he didn’t attempt to anger him either. Grandpa had a mean temper.

“Yes, your brother might be used to a totally different lifestyle to this, Yugi, but what you have to understand is that a lot of this is almost overwhelming for your brother. He has come from a very different world and much of Japan is almost alien to him and he won’t admit that he’s afraid. And I don’t blame him for being afraid for us all.” There was a deep finality to Grandpa’s voice, something that Yugi had never heard before. Yugi felt his stomach drop at the thought that there was something dangerous to them all that had followed Atemu.

“What do you mean?” Yugi asked quietly, fear coursing through his veins. Never in all his life had he ever been in danger, not even when he was around Bakura. “Where’s Atemu?”

“Atemu went out with Bakura. Mentioned something about meeting Seto in the park.” At Yugi’s surprised look his grandfather raised an eyebrow. “What? Did you think that Atemu couldn’t possibly know anyone famous? Your father is a very powerful and influential man. Even Seto has a great sense of respect for him and, therefore, to us. He and Atemu have been friends for a while.”

“So, are there any other people that we don’t like that Atemu is friends with?” Yugi asked, sarcasm colouring his tone. He liked this conversation a lot better than the one about being under threat.

“Seto Kaiba has left us alone for five years. You would know this if you had paid attention.” Yugi frowned. Five years… that was about the time that Kaiba had started to run the company his own way as well as starting to disappear to Egypt for the holidays.

“I didn’t know,” was all Yugi was able to say however. Everything else made no sense anymore and suddenly games night felt silly and childish. Here they were, having a conversation about Yugi’s father, who hadn’t talked to Yugi in ten years, and they were playing card games to see who would get the dare for the night? What was his life turning into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I shall have no internet for a while so I'm just posting this now while I actually have time to post something. Please enjoy and let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

The next day dawned relatively quietly for Yugi. For once he was up early, unable to stay in bed any longer than necessary. Atemu hadn't returned until late into the night and had looked troubled when he walked in. Bakura had been noticeably abesent and Yugi got the feeling that some random person on the other side of town was being mugged. Yugi sighed as he stared out at the bright sky, wishing he would be able to sleep in on a Saturday morning, and not have to worry about anything to do with his father or his brother. In fact, Yugi had been doing quite well without him and now he had come, dragging danger and lord knows what with him.

It didn't take long for Yugi to realise that he was the first one up but he was surprised when he did. He didn't normally get up until late and had no idea what to do right now. He wasn't feeling all that hungry, the worry and curiosity blocked it out, and so he decided to take a walk around instead. Perhaps the fresh air would do him some good and the exercise would give him a healthy appetite for breakfast.

The day was bright and sunny, giving Domino a cheerful feel. Domino city could be a very beautiful place, especially in this area of town so near the park. Since it was early, not many people were around and the park was fairly empty of annoying little children who would scream and shriek throughout the day normally on a weekend. Yugi liked the quiet it brought and could feel himself relaxing. Flower blossoms blew past his face and ticked his nose, making him laugh. He considered collecting a few to give to Tea but then realised that she wouldn't care either way and, anyway, she wouldn't be up yet. That and she consistently told Yugi that she only felt for him what a friend would and refused to indulge in Yugi's crush on her. Yugi had thought that he had kept it secret enough but she had guessed anyway and would only give him that friendly yet sad smile when he tried to bring it up. However, the flower blossoms soon became the least of Yugi's problems.

Yugi had never been very good at sensing danger and he certainly didn't sense it now which was too bad. He hated the fact that he had constantly been picked on and he hadn't been able to stop the bullies nor sense when they would next pounce. So when he crashed straight into someone, it was no surprise that he didn't realise the danger until he looked up.

"Well, if it isn't the little game nerd Yugi Motou," Ushio sneered as he towered over Yugi. Ushio was huge, built exactly like the police officer that his father happened to be, and liked to remind everyone of that. Yugi didn't think that most police children were all that bad but Ushio seemed to think that made him immune to the law let alone school rules. In fact, he seemed to think that it gave him the power to pick on small children and Yugi had been his favourite until Ushio had graduated. Thankfully, Yugi hadn't seen Ushio since then but it seemed that today was not his lucky day.

"H-Hey Ushio!" Yugi said nervously, "Long time no see." Yugi gulped as Ushio glared at him disapprovingly.

"You should look where you're going. Just 'cause you're a shrimp doesn't meant that you can fit through everyone's legs. I think you need to learn a lesson," Ushio growled, showing that he was obviously not a morning person.

"Please, Ushio..." Yugi begged, not sure exactly why he was begging. He hated pleading with bullies but he wasn't built for fighting. He hated violence of any kind which was probably why he was picked on so often.

"We're not in school anymore Motou. Pleading isn't going to help you." Ushio had that evil smirk on his face, the one he always had when he was going to beat the crap out of someone. Yugi recoiled backwards, tripping over a tree root in the process, knowing that he wasn't going to get out of this. He squeezed his eyes shut as the first blow came down. He cried out as one blow after another came into contact with his small, fragile frame. At one point, Yugi heard a crack, telling him that one of his ribs was broken but there was nothing he could do. It wasn't as if Yugi knew how to fight back against the guy.

"Lay another hand on him and I swear I will kill you." Yugi felt his eyes snap open to the sound of his brother's voice cutting into the hell that he had fallen into. He rolled his eyes to the side and caught a glimpse of Atemu dressed all in black, glaring at Ushio with one of the coldest glares Yugi had ever seen. The phrase 'if looks could kill' ran through his head, redefining its meaning. Yugi had never seen so much hatred in one person's eyes before. Ushio, however, just seemed to think it was funny.

"And what are you going to do midget? I could give you a lesson too once I've finished with this moron right here," Ushio sneered, his smirk still in place. Anger flared up in the depths of hatred in Atemu's eyes as he narrowed them in cold fury.

"I'm warning you, touch Yugi again and I will have no qualms leaving you in an alley for the dogs to feed off of," Atemu growled quietly, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Yugi got the feeling that he was already struggling not to do just that.

"And what are you going to do about it? You're nothing but a twig for me to break." Ushio laughed at his own muscularity. Atemu scowled.

"Well a least I don't have the brain capacity of a five year old." This time, Ushio stiffened in anger. He growled and then suddenly swung a large, meaty fist at Atemu. Yugi cried out at him, trying to tell him to run while he had the chance but realised that Atemu was no longer there. Ushio's fist sailed through air as Atemu ducked down, sending Ushio a blow of his own, a sharp jab in the stomach. Ushio overbalanced, falling to the ground clutching his midriff in a pain. For a moment he lay there and Yugi wondered how Atemu had felled him in only one blow when he rose to his feet, angrier than ever.

"I'll make you pay for that!" Ushio shrieked his eyes wild with rage. Atemu just stood like a tightly coiled spring, waiting for the chance to strike. The next few minutes were a blur of Ushio swinging at Atemu and Atemu dodging while sending back strikes of his own. Finally, Atemu had Ushio pinned to a tree, one of Ushio's arms pulled up towards his shoulder-blades.

"Attempt to move and I'll break your arm," Atemu growled at Ushio, the cold fury still in his voice. Yugi blinked. He had never seen anyone this mad, not even Bakura. Ushio just spat at Atemu.

"You think you're tough? I'll show you how stupid you are! I'll break your stupid little friend into pieces before-" Ushio cried out as Atemu yanked viciously on Ushio's arm. There was an awful snapping noise and Ushio screamed. Atemu had broken his arm in that one movement, but what was more frightening was Atemu's face. There was no regret, only anger. Atemu looked dangerous, like a panther about to move in for the kill.

The moment was broken by the scream of sirens. Yugi realised that a good ten minutes must have passed, enough time for people to see two boys fighting violently in the park and to call the police. And here he was lying on the ground with Atemu standing over him and Ushio writhing on the floor at his brother's feet. And Atemu looking like some sort of hard-core criminal who has seen death so many times that he has lost caring in it. So Yugi wasn't at all surprised when the two police officers jumped out of the car and ploughed his brother to the ground. Atemu struggled, only to cry out as one pulled out a Taser gun, shocking him to unconsciousness. Yugi wasn't aware that he had cried out until the officers turned to him. It was only then that he realised that one was Officer Ushio, his once bully's father.

* * *

Yugi had been through many terrible occurrences in life. He had lost his mother, his father and brother hadn't seemed to want anything to do with him and Kaiba Corporation had nearly pushed them to eviction once. But Yugi had never _ever_ been in a police station. Not even when the officers had brought the news of the car crash to their door had Yugi been taken to a police station. Yugi had never been in trouble. Now, he sat opposite a severe-looking woman who looked as if she had a permanent scowl, locked in handcuffs to the chair. It was nearly enough to make Yugi cry except he told himself that he was nearly sixteen and he would not be seen crying because he had been arrested for something he didn't do. Atemu was sat in the chair next to him, looking as if he hadn't been tasered at all. Yugi wondered how he was managing that.

"You two are in a lot of trouble. You know that, don't you?" Officer Ushio had entered the room and relieved the woman of her post. She scowled deeper and rose from the chair.

"They haven't spoken a word Officer," the woman spat, her voice gravelly as if she had gargled nails. Yugi winced and looked at his feet. He wasn't sure why they thought that he had done anything wrong since he had been on the floor, but he supposed he had been on the scene. They might have thought that he had been aiding Atemu.

"Now, would you like to tell me why you assaulted my son?" Officer Ushio asked in a calm voice although there was an undertone of anger in it. Yugi got the feeling that this man was as nice as his son.

"He was assaulting my brother first. I simply defended Yugi," Atemu said back, just as calmly. Yugi wished that Atemu wouldn't see it that way. They could be charged for bodily assault! They could end up in jail! And Atemu was not only disrespecting an officer, he was also stating that they were related! For all Yugi knew, Officer Ushio would take that as them being a team in crime or something.

Officer Ushio narrowed his eyes. "My son has never assaulted anyone in his life. He claims that you were attacking unprovoked and the fact that you broke his arm means that I can charge you for grievous bodily harm. Now why don't you start telling me who you are and why you assaulted my son?" Officer Ushio shouted, slamming his fist on the table. Yugi winced and he felt Atemu's gaze on him. Yugi had never had anyone but Joey look out for him but Atemu was defending him even in this police room which was a surreal feeling. Then again, Joey had never gotten them arrested.

"My name is Atemu Motou and I _am_ telling you the truth. I followed my brother to the park because he looked troubled and when I caught up with him there was a boy standing over him, beating him to a pulp. I think he broke one of Yugi's ribs. When I told him to leave Yugi alone he insulted me, then came at me with fists so I defended myself." Atemu was looking at Officer Ushio with all the pride and majesty of a prince. Suddenly Yugi could imagine him sitting on a throne ruling over people, giving out justice to the cruel and greedy. There was just something about Atemu that screamed royalty. Officer Ushio, however, didn't seem to think so. He typed something into the computer, frowned and typed something else. Then he looked away from the computer and back to Atemu with narrowed eyes.

"I can't find you on this system. I have databases on everyone in the world, including some of the remotest people on this planet and your name doesn't come up. It does say that your friend has a brother that lives in Egypt but you're not listed. Now tell me why that is." Officer Ushio was smirking like he had just won a hand at poker and Yugi felt Atemu tense in the seat next to him. Yugi was confused. Why did Atemu's name not come up? He had always thought that Motou was their father's surname; however Grandpa's surname was Motou so it actually made sense that it was something else. Yugi had almost forgotten that. But that still didn't explain why Atemu was a blank on a world database.

"You don't want my full name," Atemu muttered, his eyes suddenly on the floor. Yugi wondered what was so bad about his full name. It couldn't be as bad as Yugi Heba Motou. He didn't have a clue what his middle name even meant!

Officer Ushio raised an eyebrow. "Well, I need a name to inform your parent of this charge so he can get the pair of you a lawyer. I'm taking you to court for this assault on my son."

"But he was protecting me!" Yugi cried, speaking up for the first time. He couldn't believe this! His brother had told the officer the truth and yet he still didn't believe them!

"I don't care what you think happened. The fact is that he assaulted my son for no reason and now won't own up to it. So your full name?" Officer Ushio looked at Atemu expectantly. Atemu growled and looked at the floor.

"Don't blame me for what you find," he muttered. "It's Atem Yami Sennen Pharaos." Yugi blinked at all the foreign words, trying to figure out which part was the surname and which part the end of Atemu's names. Officer Ushio smiled and typed it into the computer. After a moment his eyes widened and his mouth fell open. Yugi watched as the officer's eyes flicked between Atemu, the computer and himself. A long silence stretched out as the officer seemed to recover from whatever it was that he had found.

"Y-You've got to be kidding me!" Officer Ushio finally managed, still staring at Atemu as if the world's most famous celebrity was sitting in front of him. Atemu didn't look back at him.

"I thought you were going to call my father," was all he said, his face shadowed by the long blonde locks in front of his face. Officer Ushio shook his head and picked up the phone next to his left hand, typing in whatever number he saw on the screen. He then, surprisingly, pressed the speakerphone button. A female voice answered.

"Hello, welcome to Kaiba Corporation, Egypt. How may I help you?" Officer Ushio was the one to speak.

"I would like to talk to Akhnankhamun Hekeb Snusret Pharaos please. It's urgent." There was a long pause. Yugi thought he could hear frantic scrabbling and the woman faintly asking a question.

"Please hold one moment sir, while we patch you through," the woman returned faintly, almost as if she didn't get that request very often.

"Why did it go to Kaiba Corp?" Yugi whispered to Atemu. As far as he was aware, their father had nothing to do with Kaiba Corporation, or any corporation in fact. Atemu just shrugged.

"Probably the only way to get in touch with father." Yugi blinked at the way that Atemu had phrased that. Not 'dad'. 'Father'. Was their dad a strict parent? Or did he just insist on formalities?

The phone was suddenly picked up again, this time with by a man with a deep voice full of authority.

"Hello?"

"Am I speaking to Mr Pharaos?" Officer Ushio asked his voice slightly shaky as if suddenly aware that he was speaking to someone of importance. Yugi noticed that his face had gone completely white.

"Yes." The voice was terse, impatient. It was clear that their father wasn't happy with getting a call.

"I have your... um... your sons with me. They've been caught assaulting a child in a park." Officer Ushio seemed to have lost all confidence in himself. There was a long silence, then,

"That doesn't sound like my children. What was the name of their supposed victim?"

"Ushio. Tetsu Ushio."

"Would I happen to be speaking to Officer Ushio?" Officer Ushio, if possible, went even paler.

"H-How did you know that?" he practically whispered, suddenly looking terrified.

"I have my sources. Now, let me tell you something. I have been informed in the past that while your son attended Domino High School, he bullied my younger son, Yugi, simply because he was smaller and weaker than your own son. I also happen to know that the University of Japan would not accept his application for joining the police forces in an apprenticeship because of his violent tendencies. Now, I am sure that Atem has informed you of the _actual_ situation by now and I would not like to be contacted on this number again unless in an _actual_ emergency or because of an _actual_ crime committed by my sons!" Officer Ushio looked as if he were going to throw up. Yugi wondered who had told his father all of this and where they had gotten the information.

"O-Of course," Officer Ushio stuttered. "I-I won't b-bother you again." The phone clicked dead as their father hung up the phone. Atemu just looked at the phone curiously, as if trying to puzzle something out. Officer Ushio just shook his head and came round from behind the desk. A moment later Yugi's hands were free and he was able to stand. Officer Ushio just gave him a shaky smile as he let Atemu go as well.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you boys," he said as he put the keys back into his pocket. Atemu stood up, massaging his wrists where the cuffs had been put on tightly. "I'll be having words with Tetsu later on. You can count on me to make sure this whole mess is cleared up as soon as possible." Atemu just raised an eyebrow and Yugi wondered if he was thinking of filing a law suit of his own against the police officer. Yugi just smiled, happy to be able to go.

"I'm sure that's all right. No harm done right?" Yugi said a little nervously. After all, only a few moments ago he had been under arrest. Officer Ushio smiled, avoiding eye contact with either of them.

"I'll get you a lift home." Officer Ushio left and Yugi turned to Atemu.

"Can you believe it? Star treatment home!" Yugi laughed with relief, happy that he wasn't going to end up in jail. Atemu just looked at the floor and made a noncommittal noise. Yugi frowned. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Atemu murmured. "I had just hoped that I would be able to live a little normally for once."

"Oh." Yugi looked at the floor himself suddenly realising that Atemu had probably had the star treatment all the time. The old hatred flared up again but for once it was slightly muted. Atemu didn't look happy about being treated that way. In fact, he looked as if he wished for anything other than the attention they were getting. Not that his looks hadn't already gotten him noticed.

Silence reigned in the room as they waited for Officer Ushio to return. Yugi wanted to talk to Atemu, a sudden need to understand his twin rising in him for the first time from the first proper conversation they had had since he had come home, however he didn't know how to breach the subject. Atemu was always so quiet when the conversation turned to talk of his homeland. Watching him now, Yugi noticed how uncomfortable Atemu looked. He had obviously never been in a police station either and he probably had never been tasered before. He was rubbing his shoulder, where the electric shock had entered his body and Yugi felt a stab of pity. Being tasered was probably as horrible as it looked and Atemu had only been trying to protect him after all.

The door suddenly opened before Yugi could say anything and the woman with the gravelly voice was back. "There's a car to take you up to Kaiba Corp," the woman said, before leaving again. Yugi blinked. Why on earth would they be going to Kaiba Corp? Atemu looked just as startled, his eyes wide in shock. Well, it was nice to know that something could shock his brother but Yugi was too shocked himself to take any pleasure from the expression on his brother's face.

"Why do we need to go to Kaiba Corp? Can't we just go home?" Yugi asked out loud but Atemu just shook his head.

"I don't know," was all he said before following the woman out of the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so if anyone has read this elsewhere, yes the names are different. I changed them for accuracy in one occasion and in the others, because I felt like it. All of Akhnankhamun's names are made up or blatently ripped from other pharaoh's so there's that. I actually have a lot of this already written up, so I will be uploading a chapter a week from now on until I reach the stopping point (by which time I might have more or all of it written up, we shall see), so updates should be more regular for a time.
> 
> Other than that, enjoy!
> 
> Also, warning Kaiba appears in the next chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

Seto Kaiba was a busy man and had many things to worry about. He ran the entire company of Kaiba Corporation from Japan all the way to Australia and Britain. There were braches in nearly every country and Kaiba ran them all. He spent much of his time organising events from charity dinners to Duel Monsters championships to theme park openings and he was helped a great deal by his genius thirteen year-old brother Mokuba. It was little known that the pair was only half-brothers and that Mokuba was only related to Seto on their mother’s side but the pair had grown up together and ignored this. Then again, Seto himself was only eighteen and had been the youngest CEO the world had ever seen. He had taken over the company at the age of fourteen and had been taking regular trips to Egypt since then for reasons known only to him.

And Seto Kaiba was having a really bad day.

It had started out all right. He had been organising a charity event to raise money for Domino’s orphanages so that they could all have the proper facilities needed to raise children. His events co-ordinators however were not coming up with any great ideas and he was being pestered by Domino High school for the fact that a certain annoying Egyptian thief hadn’t turned up to his extra lessons of the day. After shipping Bakura off to his numerous detentions he had just settled down to have a relaxing lunch with his younger brother when the phone rang. After being shouted at for being lax in his duties (and grumbling to himself that his cousin was not under his control in the first place), Kaiba had sent his own private limo to the Domino police station. Mokuba had looked at him in confusion when he flopped into the couch in a very un-elegant manner and massaged his temples.

“Is it really that bad?” Mokuba asked over the top of his laptop. Seto guessed that he was working on whatever assignment his private tutor had given him and just nodded.

“I can feel a headache coming on and it isn’t even midday yet,” he muttered, eyeing the food on the table. He had meant to eat with Mokuba and play a couple of games before heading out on a private flight to America to sort through some problems for the championship that was occurring there. Now, there would be no such plans, all of them gone to pot after that phone call.

“Who wanted you on the phone?” Mokuba asked, closing the laptop.

“My uncle. Apparently my cousin got himself arrested.” Mokuba’s eyes widened.

“What did he do?” Seto shrugged, wondering if he would have time to eat at least a snack before he arrived.

“Don’t know. Don’t care. He’ll be here any minute.” Mokuba’s eyes lit up. Every year Mokuba would pester him to let him go to Egypt with him and every year Seto felt wretched as he shot him down. Mokuba was desperate to meet Seto’s cousin, one of the few people that he wasn’t related to, but Seto knew he couldn’t take Mokuba to Egypt. It was too dangerous for him and Seto would kill himself if Mokuba were to get hurt while they were there. He wasn’t too fond of his uncle but he was even less fond of his father.

Roland suddenly walked in with a nod to Seto Kaiba. “Mr Kaiba, they’ve arrived.”

“Send them in,” Seto said waving Roland away. Roland was the Kaiba’s… everything. He was Mokuba’s tutor, Seto’s secretary and their head of security. If Seto forgot something, Roland would be there with the information required or the reminder of something that needed done. He helped to organise the smaller people who Seto had no time to see and the man still found time to entertain Mokuba when he was bored. Seto would never admit it but he was rather fond of Roland.

A moment later Roland was back leading two very similar boys with him. Seto felt an eyebrow twitch but sat up, knowing that looking undignified in front of strangers only made them think that you were more human. To Seto that was unacceptable. Atem might be able to get away with it but he would never be able to. After all, to the world he looked like some sort of orphan got lucky to the rich entrepreneurs. Seto couldn’t let his reputation fade because Atem brought his pesky brother along with him.

“I was told only you were involved,” Seto snapped at Atem as Roland left. Mokuba just sat staring at Atem with interest while the smaller version of Atem looked around nervously. Seto noticed that he looked more Japanese than Atem did, probably why he had never noticed him until now. Seto knew his name too. Yugi Motou. Who knew he would turn out to be Atem’s twin?

Atem raised that annoying eyebrow and looked at Seto impassively. “I didn’t expect you to be involved.” Seto growled. They might be cousins but this was _his_ turf.

“Your father was on the phone, _shouting_ at me because _you_ got yourself arrested because _you_ couldn’t reign in your temper! So don’t think that you’re blameless in this!” Seto practically shouted. Atem’s face remained the same although his eyes did drift towards his brother slightly. Seto realised with a jolt that Yugi knew about as much as Mokuba did, perhaps even less. He was staring at Seto in alarm, as if shocked that they knew each other let alone were on speaking terms. Seto pulled his own temper in and let out a frustrated sigh. “Look, I’ve got bigger things to worry about than getting you out of trouble.”

“Oh, I think father handled that all right by himself.” There was a bitter sarcasm to Atem’s voice and Seto got the feeling that he had been witness to the conversation between the officer and Akhnankhamun. Well, he was a rather intimidating man and it made Seto wonder how Atem was able to live with him.

“Of that, I have no doubt.” Seto was struck by a sudden thought. “What was the officer’s face like?” A smirk appeared on Atem’s face.

“Priceless.”

“Um…” Seto turned his gaze towards Yugi, who instantly turned red at the attention. “How do you two know each other?” _Great_ Seto thought. _He’s clueless_.

“We happen to be cousins’ moron,” Seto snapped and Atem shot him a look as Yugi flinched. Seto got the feeling that something else was going on and decided to go down a different track. “What happened?”

“An idiot thought he could beat me up. He also attacked Yugi.” Seto could feel the anger radiating off of Atem about this and winced in sympathy for the idiot who took Atem on. Even Seto knew that that was stupid and he also knew that Atem, however charming he could be, was dangerous if you were caught harming anyone close to him let alone his own flesh and blood.

“Well, that was dumb,” Seto muttered and turned to Yugi. “Were you hurt?” Yugi blinked in shock and then winced a little as he gingerly took a seat. The poor kid looked exhausted and was also eyeing up the food table.

“I think Ushio broke one of my ribs,” he murmured, eyes still on the table. Seto got the feeling that he had skipped breakfast.

“Help yourself to lunch. I’ll tell Roland to fetch the doctor. You might as well stay here for now. Mokuba, keep our guests entertained!” With that Seto got up and left, only just hearing his brother’s, “Sure thing, bro!” before heading down the corridor back to his office. It looked as if he would be missing out on lunch after all.

Yugi was in shock. He couldn’t believe that he was sitting here, in Seto Kaiba’s private quarters no less, being invited to eat lunch and be looked after by Kaiba’s private doctor. Not to mention the bombshell that they were related. The boy on the other end of the couch had put down his laptop and was eagerly leaning forward, talking to Atemu.

“So you’re really Atem? I’ve been looking forward to meeting you!” the boy was saying, swinging his short legs back and forth, just scraping the floor with his shoes. Yugi grabbed an apple off the table and gingerly took a bite. His stomach growled, letting him know that he had skipped breakfast and he found himself devouring the apple rapidly, feeling a lot like Joey.

Atemu was just smiling at the boy and nodding. “Yes, I am. I’ve heard a lot about you too Mokuba.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You’re brother keeps telling me how insistent you are on coming to Egypt.” The boy- Mokuba- flushed but didn’t stop talking.

“What’s Egypt like? What’s Seto’s father like?” Yugi was surprised by the question, thinking that that was rather awkward. Atemu looked a little conflicted too, as if unsure of how to answer correctly.

“Egypt is great, I suppose. A lot hotter than this place at any rate.” Mokuba laughed.

“I suppose that’s why you’re wearing a jacket when it’s the height of summer outside!” Atemu laughed as well, but his face became serious again in a moment.

“As for your other question… you’ll have to ask your brother.” Mokuba looked crestfallen.

“I have. He won’t say a word to me about it. He barely talks about Egypt in the first place and if he does it’s normally to complain of the lack of conventional sense.” Atemu suddenly burst into laughter at that, his face split into a real smile for once, not just a smirk. Yugi wished he could do that to Atemu. It made Atemu’s face light up and he looked younger than normal. Sometimes it was hard to remember that they were the same age.

“Well, he wouldn’t be wrong,” Atemu chuckled, reaching forward and taking an apple. Yugi had already moved on to the sandwiches which were delicious. Mokuba smiled and turned towards him.

“So, you must Atem’s brother right?” Mokuba asked with a smile. Yugi blinked one sandwich half-way to his mouth.

“Err… yeah. I am,” Yugi said confused in Mokuba’s interest in him. In fact he was confused to everyone’s interest in him. Why was it only now that people thought that there was something special about him but before wouldn’t say a thing?

“I’m sorry if we caused you trouble in the past,” Mokuba said. “We didn’t know who you were then.”

“You didn’t?” Yugi was really confused by now. It was clear that there was something that Atemu had forgotten to mention when moving to Japan.

“No! Seto only found out that _his_ father was still alive like five years ago! And then he didn’t find out that he had cousins till four years ago! It’s not really a conventional system if you ask me!” Mokuba seemed a lot friendlier than his brother although Yugi was slightly confused to all the references to _his_ father.

“Um… what happened to your parents?” Yugi asked. Mokuba blinked, looking taken aback. “I’m sorry!” Yugi cried, suddenly realising how rude that sounded. “I didn’t mean to pry or anything!”

“No, it’s ok,” Mokuba sent him a smile as he said it. “It’s just… no one’s ever asked that to me before. They just ask why my brother looks nothing like Gozeboro and leaves it at that. My parents are dead. Our mom died in a car crash and my dad died of cancer about three years ago. He couldn’t look after me or Seto so he gave us to an orphanage a couple of years after mum’s death. That was when he knew he was dying.” Mokuba was looking at the floor and Yugi felt great sympathy for him. After all, his own mother died in a car crash too.

“My mum died in a car crash. I’ve never met my father. I’m sorry about your dad.” Mokuba smiled at Yugi as if looking at a new friend.

“You’re a good person Yugi. But, um… I hope you don’t mind me asking… how comes you’ve never met your father?” Mokuba asked, his eyes shining with that childhood innocence that Yugi had once had before all this had started.

“The same reason why your brother doesn’t take you to Egypt,” Atemu said shortly, causing Yugi to jump. He had almost forgotten that he was there, considering he had been so quiet. Mokuba blinked in surprise but before he could ask anything the door opened and Seto walked in followed by a man in a long white coat.

“The doctor’s here to see you. Atem, I need to talk to you before you leave.” With that Seto walked out of the room. Atemu hesitated a moment before glancing back at Yugi as the doctor made his way over to him and then making his way out of the room. Yugi wondered why his brother was so worried about him and why his father had never come to see him. What had Atemu meant, ‘the same reason your brother doesn’t take you to Egypt’? There wasn’t anything dangerous in Egypt was there?

Sometimes Atemu really wished his cousin wasn’t so egotistical. That way he might be able to keep Yugi from asking too many questions about dangerous areas. After the incident with the park that morning, he had been hoping to avoid all contact with anyone who knew his father. In fact, he had been hoping that his father would have abruptly forgotten the call from the police officer the moment he had gotten off the phone. Not that Atemu had known that his father owned a piece of modern technology. This was starting to get weirder by the minute, the further he plunged into this world. Perhaps it would be better to just stay inside…

Atemu winced as his right shoulder bumped against the wall from the Taser attack that morning. He hadn’t been aware that such things existed until now and the fact that it had happened so suddenly hadn’t helped. It had taken all his willpower not to strike out defensively with the shadows before losing unconsciousness and somehow, it still was. He could feel them roiling under his skin, still alive with the angry energy they had taken from him that morning when he had seen that oaf beating up his brother. Atemu hated discrimination more than he hated people taking the micky out of him for his height. Just because he was short, didn’t mean that he couldn’t look after himself.

Seto was waiting for him in the office, glaring at the door. Atemu knew what was coming; it was like being back at home after his father had found out that he had slipped away again. Sometimes it felt more like the palace was a prison than a home.

“So,” Seto started, “would you like to tell me why you felt the need to break someone’s arm in Japan?” Atemu knew the icy cold tone meant that Seto was saving his rant for later. That or he would leave to punch the wall outside and return nursing a swollen hand.

“As I told you, some oaf was beating up my brother. I simply avenged him.”

“By breaking his arm?”

“He broke Yugi’s ribs,” Atemu shot back, annoyed at how Seto seemed to take his answers as some kind of insult. It wasn’t as if he had broken Seto’s arm. Again.

“This is Japan, not Egypt! That boy was Officer Myette’s son! You were lucky to get off without a warning let alone jail! How could you be so stupid! I thought you were supposed to be smart!” Ah, so there was the rant. When Seto started ranting it took a lot for him to calm down and start thinking things through rationally again. Normally, Atemu would walk away and avoid Seto until he had calmed down but the problem now was that he was in Seto’s house, in a foreign neighbourhood. He didn’t have the slightest clue as to how to get home.

“I know he was Officer Myette’s son. He wouldn’t believe my end of the story until he saw my name or talked to my father,” Atemu said quietly, hoping to get back to Yugi before anything else happened. Yugi seemed to be a magnet for trouble at the moment.

“He wasn’t very happy about that. Even less so to hear that not only was his eldest son involved, but that his youngest son was too! Do you know who gets blamed for this stuff?” Seto was too calm, a deadly calm like the cobras that waited in the trees in the gardens back home. One bite and you would be dead. Atemu knew, considering he had nearly died of their venom once when he was six and hadn’t been in Egypt very long. He hadn’t stayed a child for long.

“You do,” Atemu said evenly, looking Seto in the eyes. “And yet had it been Mokuba you would have done the same thing.”

“Don’t bring Mokuba into this,” Seto growled.

“Then don’t bring Yugi into it either!” Atemu shouted. “Do you know how hard it is to see him and know that because he knows nothing he’s in more danger than the pair of us together? I have to look out for him as much as I have to look out for myself and Japan is no less safe than Egypt! He just doesn’t know it! So don’t tell me how much trouble I’m in for pulling attention to myself! I already know!” Seto was looking slightly shocked and placed a hand on either side of the desk, using this to push himself to his feet.

“Atem,” his said quietly, all fury gone from his voice. “Calm down. Put the shadows away.” Atemu looked at his hand, startled to find it glowing with black tendrils of energy. He hadn’t lost control of them for so long… but here they felt more powerful than back home.

“I…” For once, Atemu was out of words. What was he supposed to say? I’m sorry? But he didn’t even know what was happening. “I don’t know what happened.”

“Now normally I would make a sarcastic joke about that but I know you. You’ve never lost your control over the shadows before in my watch. What happened?”

“I just said, I don’t know. It’s almost as if my power is amplified here or something…” Atemu trailed off, unsure of what to say. Seto seemed to be a deep thought.

“Do you think it has something to do with Yugi?” Atemu blinked in surprise at the question.

“What do you mean?”

“Your powers. How long have they seemed amplified to you?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t tried to reach for them until today.” Seto still looked thoughtful.

“And today you’ve been defending your brother. I’d say that he amplifies your powers without getting your soul dragged to the shadow realm which probably explains both why your brother was left behind in Japan and why your father never let you visit. He’d have to be pretty powerful too,” Seto said looking smug at having worked something out quicker than Atemu for once. Atemu frowned and looked at his hands. If that were true… he shuddered to think how many magicians would be able to track him. In certain ways this made him a beacon but he was halfway across the world to his uncle. The only people who might be able to track him that way in Japan were both on his side.

“Yugi can’t know. If he does…”

“He’ll be in danger,” Seto said quietly, lacing his fingers together in front of his face. “You have my word that I won’t say anything to Yugi. But I think you need to start considering explaining at least something of the problem to him. Ignorance can only get him so far.” Atemu bit his lip, hating to concede that Seto was right but also hating the fact that his brother was in mortal danger. Why was it always him who had to make the hard decisions?


End file.
